Hill workouts are one of the best ways to build run strength and speed for any race distance race. When we use gravity to increase the challenge of a run workout, we improve the efficiency of our run stride and eliminate wasted energy from poor form. Benefits of running hills are:
- Improved run strength and endurance.
- Less injury and faster recovery by reducing the force of impact.
- Increased power in the pushoff, which increases your stride length without the dangers of over striding.
These are just 3 of the many benefits of running hills at a fast effort. If you are new to running hills, start by incorporating five 60 second 10k efforts up a moderate hill. Recover down the hill with short easy strides before starting the next repeat. Make sure to maintain a run cadence of 180 steps / minute for best results! Hope to see you at Freedom Park tomorrow for hill repeats!
